November 9th 2008
Just Being Marines In Lake Forest
T
he thick smoke we saw this morning turned out to be a motel a block away from my first house here in OC – and just another site where U.S. Marines showed their valor and bravery.
As fire began racing through America’s Best Value Inn, six off-duty Marines who were staying there rushed through the facility, dodging flames, to pound on doors and windows to ensure that all the guests were safely evacuated. Reports the OC Register:
Amy Amadito-Phelps, who was staying in a room on the second-floor of the third-story structure, said she, her husband and 14-month-old son would probably have died if not for the Marines.
“We were right next to a room completely on fire and we couldn’t smell smoke,” Amadito-Phelps said. “No fire alarms were going off. The only thing we heard was Marines banging on our windows and telling us to get out.”
The six Marines, all enlisted men, were Josh Hernandez, Thomas O’Brien, Colton Oliver, who said:
“Everybody was out by the time the firefighters got here. It’s what we’re trained to do.”
OC Fire Authority Capt. Steve Pardi spoke for all of us:
“I’d call them absolute heroes.”
Many of those rushing away from the flames, including Amadito-Phelps, were living at the hotel and lost most of what they own. They lost their apartment when her husband’s income fell due to a slowdown in his segment of the economy: flooring.
What a tough break for these families.
